Hiya! (That's a very English phrase - it sounds like "Hi yeah" but just quicker and sometimes with a question mark at the end, not like "hi-YAH" how Mario says it in Nintendo 64 when he dropkicks something.) Short update:
I have now officially turned in 3 papers for my UCL classes: one about whether or not the British Museum should repatriate items like the Elgin Marbles or the Rosetta Stone to their countries of origin, one on the importance of the trench setting for the play Journey's End, and one on women and goddesses in The Odyssey. It's still somewhat weird to me that these papers and an exam in May are all that my grades are based on - it's definitely very different from American classes, especially engineering ones. I've also turned in 5 graduate school applications in the past week, so I've been writing a lot! I have two more essays due the last day of class, December 16th, but I have two full weeks to get those done so I have a bit of time to relax.
My parents flew over to London for the week of Thanksgiving and I had a wonderful time showing them around town. We went to see War Horse and Les Miserables (both of which were fabulous), climbed to the top of St. Paul's, and managed to get evacuated from the Tate for a fire alarm. We had a very unconventional Thanksgiving with a trip to Borough Market in the morning, Mexican food from Lupita for dinner, and a candlelight performance of Mozart's Requiem at St. Martin in the Fields. Thanksgiving is obviously not celebrated in the UK, but I was surprised how many of my British friends wished me a happy Thanksgiving and how many strangers did as well! The rugby team even had a potluck Thanksgiving dinner, though they had rugby on tv instead of American football.
I don't think I've written much about the sports teams I'm on, so maybe now is a good time to do that. Water polo has been going quite well - I've gone to tournaments in Manchester, Birmingham, and just got back from 2 games in Basingstoke this weekend. I've mostly been playing for a club team, London Polytechnic, with a range of girls from all around London. I'm actually one of the youngest girls on the team (whereas for rugby and UCL classes I'm definitely on the older side) and a lot of the players are out of university and working, so it's been nice to get to know some people outside of UCL. Rugby has been incredibly fun as well, though I still don't really know what I'm doing! The girls rugby team at UCL is huge (you play 15 people at a time, normally have 22 come to games, and we have 57 on the team) but very welcoming and friendly. I thought that having played water polo for 10 years I'd be fully prepared for the agression and physical contact required by rugby, but when we literally started wrestling during the first practice I realized I was in for a surprise. I've played in a few games so far and generally end up limping around for some reason or other for a few days after the game. Between rugby and water polo, I've racked up a pretty impressive collection of bruises and scratches as well!
Only two more weeks of first term to go - I can't believe how fast the time has been flying by. London is beautifully decorated for Christmas but I'm excited to be heading home for a bit to enjoy some of my favorite American things! Until next time.
I have now officially turned in 3 papers for my UCL classes: one about whether or not the British Museum should repatriate items like the Elgin Marbles or the Rosetta Stone to their countries of origin, one on the importance of the trench setting for the play Journey's End, and one on women and goddesses in The Odyssey. It's still somewhat weird to me that these papers and an exam in May are all that my grades are based on - it's definitely very different from American classes, especially engineering ones. I've also turned in 5 graduate school applications in the past week, so I've been writing a lot! I have two more essays due the last day of class, December 16th, but I have two full weeks to get those done so I have a bit of time to relax.
My parents flew over to London for the week of Thanksgiving and I had a wonderful time showing them around town. We went to see War Horse and Les Miserables (both of which were fabulous), climbed to the top of St. Paul's, and managed to get evacuated from the Tate for a fire alarm. We had a very unconventional Thanksgiving with a trip to Borough Market in the morning, Mexican food from Lupita for dinner, and a candlelight performance of Mozart's Requiem at St. Martin in the Fields. Thanksgiving is obviously not celebrated in the UK, but I was surprised how many of my British friends wished me a happy Thanksgiving and how many strangers did as well! The rugby team even had a potluck Thanksgiving dinner, though they had rugby on tv instead of American football.
I don't think I've written much about the sports teams I'm on, so maybe now is a good time to do that. Water polo has been going quite well - I've gone to tournaments in Manchester, Birmingham, and just got back from 2 games in Basingstoke this weekend. I've mostly been playing for a club team, London Polytechnic, with a range of girls from all around London. I'm actually one of the youngest girls on the team (whereas for rugby and UCL classes I'm definitely on the older side) and a lot of the players are out of university and working, so it's been nice to get to know some people outside of UCL. Rugby has been incredibly fun as well, though I still don't really know what I'm doing! The girls rugby team at UCL is huge (you play 15 people at a time, normally have 22 come to games, and we have 57 on the team) but very welcoming and friendly. I thought that having played water polo for 10 years I'd be fully prepared for the agression and physical contact required by rugby, but when we literally started wrestling during the first practice I realized I was in for a surprise. I've played in a few games so far and generally end up limping around for some reason or other for a few days after the game. Between rugby and water polo, I've racked up a pretty impressive collection of bruises and scratches as well!
Only two more weeks of first term to go - I can't believe how fast the time has been flying by. London is beautifully decorated for Christmas but I'm excited to be heading home for a bit to enjoy some of my favorite American things! Until next time.
